FAF Reviews GASB Deposit and Investment Risk Standards

The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), the oversight body of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), is conducting a post-implementation review (PIR) of GASB Statements 3 and 40. The PIR is part of an ongoing effort by FAF trustees to evaluate the effectiveness of accounting standards as well as the standard-setting process. The FAF welcomes feedback from preparers at public institutions concerning deposit and investment risk disclosure requirements.

The current phase of the PIR process involves a survey of GASB constituents. The survey, slated for September, will help the FAF evaluate the effectiveness of the accounting standards by hearing from users, preparers, auditors, academics, and regulators. NACUBO encourages public institutions to provide feedback to the FAF by registering and participating in this important survey.

A Brief Background

In 2003, the GASB issued Statement No. 40, "Deposit and Investment Risk Disclosures, an amendment of GASB Statement 3." In issuing the statement, the board had two objectives:

Establish more comprehensive disclosure requirements to address other common risks of the deposits and investments of state and local governments.

GASB Statement No. 40 substantially increased the disclosures required about certain risks (i.e., credit risk, concentration of credit risk, interest rate risk, and foreign currency risk) related to the deposits and investments held by public institutions. In fact, many public institutions devote pages of their financial statement notes to these disclosures. For this reason, it is important for public institutions to participate in this post-implementation review process. The survey period is scheduled to begin the second week of September and continue for approximately four weeks.